Ink jet recording is a printing method wherein droplets of an ink composition are ejected and deposited on recording media, such as paper, to perform printing. The feature of the ink jet recording method is that images having a combination of high resolution with high sharpness can be printed at a high speed by means of a relatively inexpensive apparatus. Various ink compositions for use in recording by this ink jet recording method have hitherto been proposed. In recent years, there is an increasing demand for higher-grade recorded images. Among others, various proposals have been made for further improving the color development and gloss of recorded images.
In order to realize high-quality images, a method has been proposed in which an ink composition and a second composition are deposited onto a recording medium to perform printing. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 207424/1997 and 286940/1997 disclose an ink jet recording method in which an ink composition having a specific composition and a polyallylamine-containing reaction solution are deposited in combination onto a recording medium. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 81611/1996 discloses an ink jet recording method in which a cationic material-containing liquid composition and an ink composition are printed in combination.